Illinois...

[BReeder!]

Quail pics! Just talked to DW and she sent me these pics. 11 hatched so far. Today is the due date for batch 1 so there are plenty more coming.

 

[Faraday40]

Keep us in your thoughts tomorrow (Fri). We're leaving at 5:30am and going to the state fair & back. It'll be a very long & fun day!

Minivan road trip! My friend's minivan with her 3 kids and my 2. Plus 3 projects and two large coolers. We're leaving the husbands at home. LOL

 

[BReeder!]

Quail pics! Just talked to DW and she sent me these pics. 11 hatched so far. Today is the due date for batch 1 so there are plenty more coming.
View attachment 1871662 View attachment 1871663

17 quail so far...

 

[Faraday40]

No chicks yet. (Chicks hatching on time - & not yesterday - was about the only thing going right.)


Our Frustration Friday:

Spoiler: Just me venting about a hard day.

Prep:
Because we were scheduled on a Fri (workday) my friend & I decided to let the husbands stay home to work and we'd carpool.
Everything was packed & on the table for our journey.
Kids rehearsed and healthy
I packed lunches, snacks, and extra dinner sandwiches for all 7 people.
I pre-ordered fair tickets 2 months in advance to save $ and even got a special unloading pass.
I printed up maps and my friend had GPS on her phone and a full tank of gas in her minivan
We woke up on time and my friend arrived 15 min late. (I added an extra 30 min for traffic, potty breaks, parking, etc, so all started off great.)
Frustrations:
1.
What I didn't know is that DH loaded everything in the BUT my kids' posterboards. Around 7:30am DD asked if I could hand her the 22 page report she wrote. I told her to look in back next to her poster. As soon as we realized it wasn't there, we called home & sure enough it was sitting next to the front door. Quickly did some math & decided the best plan was to continue on to Springfield, check in, and have DH drive the poster 1/2 way. I would borrow my friend's minivan to drive back and meet DH in Bloomington, IL. DD came with me to be my navigator, and I left DS with our friends to enjoy the fair.

2.
DH gave me the address of a McD's where we could meet. The address brought me to a taco dive in Bloomington. There was a McD's nearby, so I figured the GPS was just a little off. It turns out "Normal, IL" has the same roads and numbering system. Both towns also have several McD's. We eventually realized the problem and found each other, but it took an extra 50min.

3.
Because we were returning to the fair midday, all the regular parking was full. I drove around the fairgrounds a few times. We parked on the opposite side because all the lots were full. I pulled into a lot & then they kept directing me further & further away. It was about a 1/3 mi walk to get to the gate and another 3/4 mi walk once inside the grounds to get to the other side. We had to carry the big cooler and bulky posters.

4.
Finally met up with the rest of our party. We had to eat quickly in order to get my kids in place for their judging time. They ask the kids to be in place about 20 in before their time. DS was judged on time, but poor DD waited & waited. 50 min later, we spoke with the superintendant. The man pointed out her judge and told us to speak with the her. The woman was judging another kid, so we waited. She immediately went on to her last scheduled kid, so we waited some more.

5.
Finally the judge finished with her last kid & we asked when she would be available to judge DD's project. She said that when she arrived, the project wasn't present, so DD's name was crossed off her list. DD explained how the project was left at home and that we drove 1/2 way home to get it. The woman allowed DD to present her project. Judge's body language = crossed arms & frown. She was clearly upset that she had to listen to another kid at the end of the day. DD had an incredible project. The judge warmed up a little and relaxed about 1/2 through.

6.
As DD was giving her presentation, the other projects were being packed up. The vet science projects did not have ribbons because that section wasn't done. DD had to wait some more. We left & came back 5 min later. Her poster was still there - not even a "participation" ribbon or commemorative pin. We went up to the judge to ask for the ribbon which we received. The judge told her that she had a wonderful project and would have done very well if she were on time. Basically she was penalized 10 pts. for being late. (Which wasn't even DD's fault.) They do a points/ % to calculate who gets superior awards. DD would have gotten a 95% & a premium if not for that penalty. DD was near tears, and had to leave before we could ask for a pin. She honestly did her best, missed spending the day with her friends at the fair, and sat in a metal folding chair for over 90 min. (Not to mention 8 hours in the car and 3 miles of walking just to get there) All of this effort only to be told that she should have been on time.

So yes it was a BAD DAY. Nothing life-changing like an accident or death in the family, but if I could have guessed how it would have ended, we really should have stayed home.

DS got to stay at the fair and his presentation went well. I personally feel he could have scored better. He didn't talk about the basic stuff like how to care for chicks, days of incubation, etc. He felt that's all common knowledge that everyone already knows. He talked about incubators & their features, how he calculated hatch rates, measured air cells, taught his agriculture club, etc. Oh Well. He did fine and was proud of his project.

 

[Faraday40]

My mood is a little better tonight.
We have 2 pips.

 

[Molpet]

No chicks yet. (Chicks hatching on time - & not yesterday - was about the only thing going right.)


Our Frustration Friday:

Spoiler: Just me venting about a hard day.

Prep:
Because we were scheduled on a Fri (workday) my friend & I decided to let the husbands stay home to work and we'd carpool.
Everything was packed & on the table for our journey.
Kids rehearsed and healthy
I packed lunches, snacks, and extra dinner sandwiches for all 7 people.
I pre-ordered fair tickets 2 months in advance to save $ and even got a special unloading pass.
I printed up maps and my friend had GPS on her phone and a full tank of gas in her minivan
We woke up on time and my friend arrived 15 min late. (I added an extra 30 min for traffic, potty breaks, parking, etc, so all started off great.)
Frustrations:
1.
What I didn't know is that DH loaded everything in the BUT my kids' posterboards. Around 7:30am DD asked if I could hand her the 22 page report she wrote. I told her to look in back next to her poster. As soon as we realized it wasn't there, we called home & sure enough it was sitting next to the front door. Quickly did some math & decided the best plan was to continue on to Springfield, check in, and have DH drive the poster 1/2 way. I would borrow my friend's minivan to drive back and meet DH in Bloomington, IL. DD came with me to be my navigator, and I left DS with our friends to enjoy the fair.

2.
DH gave me the address of a McD's where we could meet. The address brought me to a taco dive in Bloomington. There was a McD's nearby, so I figured the GPS was just a little off. It turns out "Normal, IL" has the same roads and numbering system. Both towns also have several McD's. We eventually realized the problem and found each other, but it took an extra 50min.

3.
Because we were returning to the fair midday, all the regular parking was full. I drove around the fairgrounds a few times. We parked on the opposite side because all the lots were full. I pulled into a lot & then they kept directing me further & further away. It was about a 1/3 mi walk to get to the gate and another 3/4 mi walk once inside the grounds to get to the other side. We had to carry the big cooler and bulky posters.

4.
Finally met up with the rest of our party. We had to eat quickly in order to get my kids in place for their judging time. They ask the kids to be in place about 20 in before their time. DS was judged on time, but poor DD waited & waited. 50 min later, we spoke with the superintendant. The man pointed out her judge and told us to speak with the her. The woman was judging another kid, so we waited. She immediately went on to her last scheduled kid, so we waited some more.

5.
Finally the judge finished with her last kid & we asked when she would be available to judge DD's project. She said that when she arrived, the project wasn't present, so DD's name was crossed off her list. DD explained how the project was left at home and that we drove 1/2 way home to get it. The woman allowed DD to present her project. Judge's body language = crossed arms & frown. She was clearly upset that she had to listen to another kid at the end of the day. DD had an incredible project. The judge warmed up a little and relaxed about 1/2 through.

6.
As DD was giving her presentation, the other projects were being packed up. The vet science projects did not have ribbons because that section wasn't done. DD had to wait some more. We left & came back 5 min later. Her poster was still there - not even a "participation" ribbon or commemorative pin. We went up to the judge to ask for the ribbon which we received. The judge told her that she had a wonderful project and would have done very well if she were on time. Basically she was penalized 10 pts. for being late. (Which wasn't even DD's fault.) They do a points/ % to calculate who gets superior awards. DD would have gotten a 95% & a premium if not for that penalty. DD was near tears, and had to leave before we could ask for a pin. She honestly did her best, missed spending the day with her friends at the fair, and sat in a metal folding chair for over 90 min. (Not to mention 8 hours in the car and 3 miles of walking just to get there) All of this effort only to be told that she should have been on time.

So yes it was a BAD DAY. Nothing life-changing like an accident or death in the family, but if I could have guessed how it would have ended, we really should have stayed home.

DS got to stay at the fair and his presentation went well. I personally feel he could have scored better. He didn't talk about the basic stuff like how to care for chicks, days of incubation, etc. He felt that's all common knowledge that everyone already knows. He talked about incubators & their features, how he calculated hatch rates, measured air cells, taught his agriculture club, etc. Oh Well. He did fine and was proud of his project.

 

[Molpet]

My mood is a little better tonight.
We have 2 pips.

congrats
I think I have another broody, she is in the nest morning and night. of course she picked a dog house instead of the crate.... so she gets run out by the dominant hen during the day... will see if she sticks with the 7 (marked) eggs she has gathered

 

[cavemanrich]

@Faraday40
I could for your DD. I know how much your children get involved in their science projects. Forward this to them

 

[Faraday40]

Thanks for the support. DD seems to be handling it OK. It's not like she "lost". Every kid there was the best in their county, so it's a privilege to be there. They only give a couple "superior" ribbons out. It's more the fact that she would have won the honor and this is the 1st year she did not.

On the bright side, we've got chicks this morning, and a few pips getting ready to hatch. My broody is sitting tight on her marble eggs, so she'll finally get some babies. So will @homeschoolin momma 's little hen.

 

[BReeder!]

So far we have 26 live quail and 4 hatched but passed away. There's still a handful of eggs im the incubator. I am going to give it away least 24 hours to set if there are any late hatches. I wanted at least 30 live quail from the 41 eggs I set. I am almost there.